Turnovers Costly for Wooster in 45-24 Setback at Wabash

Mike Francescangeli

The College of Wooster moved the ball inside Wabash College territory with a chance to pull within one touchdown just under the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, but the Little Giants' Derrin Slack picked off a pass that had been tipped by a Fighting Scot receiver and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown and a 45-24 lead, which turned out to be the final score of the teams' North Coast Athletic Conference game Saturday at Crawfordsville, Ind.

The two entered this afternoon's action as the only undefeated squads left in the NCAC, so now nationally-ranked Wabash (No. 6 D3football.com, No. 5 American Football Coaches Association) controls its own destiny, in terms of winning the conference championship.

Turnovers were ultimately the difference, as Wooster (5-2, 3-1 NCAC) committed six, although two were interceptions that came after the outcome had been determined, and Wabash (7-0, 5-0 NCAC) had just one giveaway.

The Little Giants got off to a quick start. On the game's initial drive, they went to the ground, ripping off four runs of 10-plus yards, three by Evan Sobecki, including a 17-yard touchdown.

Then, the teams exchanged turnovers, with the Fighting Scots stopping Wabash's early momentum when Bryan Albani (Warren, Ohio / Howland) forced a fumble, which was recovered by Pat Byrne (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic) at the 18-yard line.

From there, Wooster's offense mounted an 82-yard scoring drive, keyed by two pass plays from Austin Holter (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) to Mike Francescangeli (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick). Facing a 3rd-and-3 around midfield, Holter found Francescangeli open down the middle for a 37-yard catch-and-run to the 11-yard line. Two players later, Holter rolled left and hit him again, this time for a 10-yard touchdown.

Tied 7-7, the Little Giants responded with a 42-yard field goal via Drew Oehler, capping an eight-play, 35-yard possession.

After a couple of punts, the Scots would take the lead early in the second quarter, with Holter using his feet to do most of the work on a six-play, 61-yard scoring march. He had a 37-yard run during it and eventually took it up the middle from six yards out for the touchdown and a 14-10 advantage.

Wabash responded, though, with maybe its two most impressive drives of the day. First, Derrick Yoder rushed the ball seven times of an eight-play, 47-yard drive, including a two-yard dive for a touchdown as the Little Giants retook the lead (17-14). Following a Wooster fumble, Wabash would go to the ground game, featuring Yoder again, as he carried it 11 times on a 14-play, 69-yard time-consuming possession. Yoder's one-yard touchdown gave the Little Giants a 24-14 cushion with :40 remaining in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, Albani burst free to the left, sprinting down the sideline for a 65-yard return to the Wabash 25-yard. The Scots could not take advantage of the opportunity, though, as an eventual 36-yard field goal attempt was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

Wooster got the ball to start the third quarter and marched 65 yards inside the five-yard line, but had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Dan Grangaard (Newark, Ohio / Newark), which lowered the deficit to seven (24-17).

The Scots' defense forced a punt, but so did the Little Giants. Then, Wabash extended its lead with two touchdowns, sandwiched around another Wooster turnover, a similar sequence to the second quarter. The Little Giants first put together a ball-controlled drive, going 49 yards over eight plays, ending on a three-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Kody LeMond as he took the ball on an end around to the left. Then, Bobby Kimp rushed the ball all five plays of a 41-yard drive, finishing it with a one-yard touchdown.

With the margin extended to 38-17, the game appeared to be over, however, the Scots made things interesting. On the next possession, Wooster was forced into a 4th-and-24 situation, when a Holter pass to the end zone was tipped by Scot receiver Mike Redick (Wooster, Ohio / Northwestern) and brought down by teammate Zack Gust (Bannock, Ohio / Union Local) in the back of the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.

Wooster's defense followed with a three-and-out and Holter completed two long passes, advancing the ball to the Wabash 26 before the game-clinching interception.

The Scots outgained the Little Giants 420 to 367, behind Holter's second consecutive game of over 350 yards of total offense. He wound up with 352, tying for the seventh-most in school history, with 286 passing on 21-of-41 completions and a team-high 66 rushing on 11 attempts.

Also for Wooster, Francescangeli registered the 12th-best receiving day in team history with a career-high 150 yards on nine catches.

The Scots held the Little Giants' standout quarterback, Matt Hudson, in check, as he was 12-of-17 through the air for 128 yards, including five to Brock Graham for 50, but the three-headed rushing attack of Sobecki, Yoder, and Kimp combined for 212 stripes on the ground. Sobecki led the way with 72 yards.

Wooster will look to bounce back next Saturday when it hosts Allegheny College (3-4, 2-2 NCAC) at 1 p.m.